The Public View of Corporate Greening

As more companies continue to focus on sustainability and provide the public with sustainable reports, the public is still has doubts about this commitment.

According to the third annual Gibbs & Soell Sense & Sustainability Study, 21 percent of Americans believe that the majority of business are making an effort toward sustainable development.

Although this skepticism exists, 71 percent of consumers are interested in what companies are doing to to become sustainable and 75 percent believe that the media is more interested in reporting bad news.

The study looked into multiple areas, including the perceptions of a businesses’ commitment to sustainability; responsibility for sustainability initiatives; barriers to more businesses “going green;” perceptions of media coverage and content about companies “going green;” interest in learning about companies “going green;” and the impact and reach of medial coverage for related news stories.

Other key findings of the study include:

Thirty-four percent of executives indicated that there is no one person who is responsible for “going green.”

One out of five corporate leaders report that there is a team of individuals who have a job specifically dedicated to sustainability. This is an increase from 17 percent in 2011.

Sixty-nine percent of executive believe the media is more likely to report on bad news than good news when it comes to sustainability.

Newspapers dominate green news among mainstream media. A study from Cision Global Analysts found that 83 percent of coverage of comes from print and online versions of newspapers.